Nation's cleaning bill drops by £1.1 BILLION in two years as households cut down on home services to save money

Saving money: Thousands are choosing to do their own chores instead of paying someone else

The nation’s cleaning bill has dropped by £1.1 billion in the last two years as households cut down on home services to save money.

As many as 44 per cent of people who had cleaners two years ago have cancelled or cut the number of hours, saving an average of £400 a year.

Since more than 6.2 million people had cleaners two years ago, this amounts to a national annual saving of £1.1 billion, according to the survey by AA Home Emergency Response.

The study revealed that a third of
householders have cut down on services carried out in their home in the
past two years – including dog walking and gardening.

Increasingly
tight budgets - thanks to rising inflation and sluggish pay increases –
mean many households are choosing to carry out these chores themselves
rather than paying for them to be done by someone else.

The
greatest cut was suffered by dogwalkers, whose services have been cut
by 45 per cent – saving dog owners an average of £245.52 a year or a
national annual saving of £465 million.

One in three (33 per cent) people have dropped their milk or fruit and veg delivery, while 31 per cent of people who employed a gardener two years ago are now cutting their own hedges or mowing lawns themselves.

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A total of 15 million people have cut
down on these services, reducing outgoings equivalent to £6.8 billion
or £451.55 a year each.

Warranties
and boiler maintenance have also been cut, with 41 per cent of the 13.6
million adults who had warranties for their appliances two years ago
reducing or cancelling them.

SERVICES CUTS AND SAVINGS MADE

NUMBER OF PEOPLE CUTTING SERVICES AND SAVINGS MADE

SERVICE

NO. OF PEOPLE USING SERVICE 2 YEARS AGO

PERCENTAGE CANCELLING OR REDUCING SERVICE

AVERAGE ANNUAL SAVING PER PERSON

TOTAL NATIONAL ANNUAL SAVING

Dog walker

4,217,000

45%

£245.52

£465,014,880

Cleaner

6,298,000

44%

£400.32

£1,104,082,560

Milk, fruit or veg delivery

12,034,000

33%

£246.36

£987,410,880

Gardening

8,916,000

31%

£233.64

£655,593,840

Ironing

7,333,000

31%

£253.80

£580,948,200

Window cleaner

19,820,000

30%

£165.84

£970,495,680

Monitored burglar alarm

8,177,000

29%

£306.24

£714,764,160

Car wash (at home)

13,819,000

26%

£193.32

£699,045,120

Other home services

6,274,000

35%

£304.32

£661,287,360

Meanwhile 16 per cent of people who had a boiler servicing agreement have reduced or stopped it.

Tom Stringer, head of AA Home Emergency Response, said: 'While there has been a lot of recent discussion over the morality of paying for services in cash, this research shows that many householders are cutting back on those services completely. When times are tough, it makes financial sense to do a lot of these tasks yourself wherever possible.’

Losing business: Thousands of dog owners are choosing to walk their own pets rather than employing a professional

He warned that saving costs in the short term may turn out more costly in the long run.

‘We would caution people against cancelling their boiler service,’ he said. ‘This will ensure their boiler remains running safely and at maximum efficiency – thus reducing their day to day energy consumption. Although cutting back on a service could provide a short term saving, the impact of neglecting it could be a lot more expensive in the long run.’